A Spooneful Of Disappointment: Most Disappointing Orioles Prospects of 2008

Disappointment is a word most Orioles fans are familiar with. They avoid it like the Bubonic Plague in the early months of the season, start to feel it creeping in around the All-Star break, and embrace it fully come August. I can think of no better word to summarize the past decade of the franchise's existence. But, disappointment is a funny thing. Sure, we're all conditioned as Orioles fans to expect disappointment to come calling the same time every year, but usually the one thing that gave us hope, and threatened to call us out of our slumberous sleep of anguish has been the minor leagues. The eternal symbol of hope, repentance, and starting again. 

2008 saw it's share of disappointment, especially in the minor leagues, and this list is designed to identify the ten prospects most responsible for getting our hopes up and breaking our hearts. 

1. Chorye Spoone, pitcher, Bowie

You just know with his picture on the cover of this article that he was gonna make the list. Spoone stunned everyone last year by capitalizing on his talent and putting together a stellar year. Hopes were high that he would stamp his spot in Baltimore by this fall, possibly bypassing Norfolk altogether. Instead, the Baysox only got 9 starts out of Chorye, all with mixed results. He managed to compile a 3-3 record, appearing to revert to pre-2007 form recording almost as many walks as strikeouts, before being placed on the DL twice. He was finally shut down for good during the last month of the season. It will be interesting to see where Spoone ranks in the system after a disappointing 2008.

2. Pedro Beato, pitcher, Frederick

Beato was considered a steal as a supplement pick in 2006. Two years later, Beato has proven to be nothing of the kind. After posting rather pedestrian numbers in '07, the 6'6'' righthander reached a standstill in '08. Ten of his 19 starts resulted in losses. Hitters torched him for a .306 batting average, and he struck out only half a batter an inning. Finishing with a 5.85 era didn't help his cause either. Unless Beato has an amazing 2009 season, it appears he has been relegated to low-level prospect status.

3. Brandon Tripp, outfielder, Frederick

It's hard to knock a guy who hit 17 home runs and drove in 69 runs. But when that same guy was the 2007 Orioles Minor League Player of the Year who also happened to ring out to a .236 batting average, an on-base percentage below .300, and 145 strikeouts in 123 games, then you have a case for most disappointing. Tripp had his moments for Frederick. He hit most of his home runs in spurts, much like in '07, but had a much more difficult time keeping his average up and avoiding striking out in every at-bat. Seriously, who would have thought that the guy leading the Keys in strikeouts would NOT have been Brandon Snyder, Billy Rowell, or Chris Vinyard. Tripp needs to rebound in '09, cut down on the strikeouts, and try hitting to contact every now and again. The guy could have a future at a higher level.

4. Tim Bascom, pitcher, Frederick

Compared to Beato, Bascom had a pretty decent season after returning from a injury early in the season. Compared to the average Carolina League pitcher, he was downright awful. After a surprising 2007 campaign, Tim tanked in '08 allowing nearly as many hits and walks as fellow Key Brandon Erbe, who pitched 55 more innings than Bascom. He was lit up at a .303 clip and surrendered 15 homers to finish with a 5.78 era. Bascom is still young, and will be entering only his second full-season in '09, but will need to put together a better campaign to climb the prospect chart.

5. Keiron Pope, outfielder, Delmarva

When the O's drafted Pope in the 4th round of the 2005 draft they knew they were getting a raw prospect with power potential galore. Pope's problem from 2005-2008 was staying healthy, something that affected his prospect status. In 2008, however, Pope played in 108 games, more than doubling his career total. Still lacking was the hitting prowess that he and the team have been trying to develop. Ask anyone and they'll tell you that Pope is one of those guys whose moonshots sound different, like a major leaguer. Pope is still relatively young and has shown a weak streak when tackling a new level. He'll probably stay at Delmarva next year and will have to hit better than .230 career average and strikeout less than the 139 times he did in '08 to advance past single-A.

6. Billy Rowell, third baseman, Frederick

Probably the only person to make both the Best Prospect and Most Disappointing list, Rowell has been a test of patience for both fans and the organization. This was expected, however, as Rowell is only 19, and has played every season with players two to three years older than him. Injuries have limited him for parts of both of the past two seasons, but when healthy Rowell has seemed...normal. Normal isn't terrible, but it definitely isn't what you should get out of the ninth pick in the draft. The Orioles swear that Rowell is right where they want him and that they never expected him to dominate at each level, but I am one of many who would love to see him do so for any extended amount of time.

7. Brian Matusz, pitcher

I know, I know. How can Matusz be a disappointment without ever pulling on some stirrups and taking the field? Exactly. After the Orioles took the college standout in the June draft the organization talked about signing him quickly and throwing him into the system, possibly at Frederick. But, in a repeat of last year, negotiations went down to the wire, and Matusz signed too late to play at all in '08. His presence on this list isn't a result of my expectations of him, or any grudge of any kind, simply just my disappointment in not being allowed to witness him pitching for us this year.

8. Hayden Penn, pitcher, Norfolk

It's always something with Penn. Appendicitis, dead arm, oblique issues, broken bat shards. It's amazingly hard to believe that Penn, who was thought to be a vital cog of the rebuilding process, is still only 23. He blew through the minors and seemed destined to make his presence known in Baltimore. Since his brief stay in the minors a few years ago, however, it has been nothing but bad luck for the righthander, and while he didn't have a terrible year, consider this a three-year achievement award.

9. The Brothers Figueroa- Paco Figueroa, second baseman, Aberdeen-Delmarva, Danny Figueroa, outfielder, Frederick

Paco Figueroa shined at Bowie in 2007, giving the Orioles what they thought would be a decent middle infield prospect. After hitting .280 with 60 runs and a impressive walk to strikeout ratio, Figueroa missed a significant amount of time in early 2008. He did begin an injury rehab at Aberdeen before working his way up to Delmarva where he has hit for a decent average. He occupies a spot on this list because of his missed time this season. Paco's brother Danny shares this spot. At Delmarva in 2008 Danny hit a respectable .280, scored 80 runs, and stole 35 bases, while sharing his brother's penchant for showing patience at the plate. Danny got the one level promotion in '08 and fared not too well. He still managed to get on base at nearly the same clip, and his runs scored, stolen bases and walks all ranged around the same as his '07 numbers, but his average dropped nearly 40 points.

10. Brandon Erbe, pitcher, Frederick

Erbe is not even 20 years old and already he has three full seasons at or above single-A ball. The hardthrowing righty did have a much improved year and made several leaps in both mechanics and mentality, but there was still that worry that he could possibly give up four home runs and 6 earned runs in 3 innings on any given night. Erbe had many ups in 2008, but also many downs. He gave up 21 home runs, a year after giving up 14, and managed to lose 4 more games than he did last year. Erbe has loads of potential and it appears things are starting to come together, but hey, I'm just selfish and want to see the kid figure out how to maintain his consistency throughout the course of the season